Automatic indicator for telephones.



R. SEDGWIGK.

AUTOMATIC INDICATOR FOR TELEPHONES. APPLIOATIGN FILED JULY 29, 1907.

903,898. Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

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R. SEDGWIGK. AUTOMATIG INDICATOR FOR TELEPHONES.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 29, 1907.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

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R. SEDGWIGK'. V AUTOMATIC INDICATOR FOR TELEPHONES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1907.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

8 SHEETS-$113111 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

' RICHARD SEDGWI GKQOF RICHMQND,INDIANA.

" 7 AUTOMATIC INDICATOR FOR TELEPHONES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known-thatI, RICHARD SEDGWICK, a citizen ofthe United States, residing in the city of Richmond, county of -YVayne, and State of Indiana, have produced a new and useful Invention, entitled Automatic Indicators for Telephones, of which the following is a full, clear, and accurate specification and exposition, being such as will enable others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains to make and use the same with exactitude.-

The invention relates, broadly, to an auto matic call-indicator for automatic telephones or the like.

The objectof my invention, briefly stated, is to provide an automatic indicator ,for automatic telephones, which will be easily at tached. to or made a part of thetelephonesubscribers-set' which will be simple in construction; automatic in operation; will not .detract from the appearance of the telephone with which itis employed; will not consume additional time of the person using it, or add to the labor or difficulties of manipulation; can be employed with any one,'a portion of, or all of the telephones in an automatic system, and without the necessity of having all of the telephones of a certain system so equipped; will add materially to the efli ciency of the telephones on which it is employed; and which can be manufactured and installed at a comparatively low price.

More specifically stated, my object is to provide an automatic indicator for telephones, which will automatically bring into the view of the user of the telephone the numerals indicative of the telephone he is attempting to call, bringing the figures into view progressively as they are indicated, in the usual manner, by the user employing the ordinary automatic telephone, whereby a mistake made by the user (which might not be observed by him without my invention) may be detected by him before he rings the call, thereby enabling him to correct his error without bother to the subscriber he has indicated by mistake, and also saving time and embarrassment to himself.

further particular object is to provide an automatic indicator for automatic telephones which will exhibitto the user of the telephone or. which it is employed the individual- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 29, 1907. Serial No. 886,139.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

numeral of the telephone he has called, or is attempting to call, and-which will continue to display the last number called, unless intentional yidisplaced, until such time as the commencement of a new call to be made on the same telephone; and at the'comanencement of such new call the prior number will automatically disappear.

Other objects and particular advantages of my invention will present themselves in the course of this specification, will be found in the drawings forming a part hereof, and the principles thereof, the parts which are new, and the various combination will be set forth in the appended claims.

One manner of carrying out the principles of my invention, and that which in practice I have found to be the most practical, is shown most clearly in the accompanying drawings, in which-.-

Figure 1 is a front view of an ordinary automatic'telephone equipped with my invention. Fi 2 is a rear view of the rotative-dial. Fig. 3 is a face view of the' concentric rings forming a p 'ut' of my invention. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view, as taken on the line 50-00 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the telephone case. showing front view of my inner disk attached thereto. Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the vation of the inner disk shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the telephone case, in which view the dial and the inner disk and also the concentric springs and rings are removed, this view showing the means for rotating the dial back to normal and also the means act ating the release of the concentric rings. ig. 9' is a face view of the concentric rings, being the same as Fig. 3 except that the rings have been rotated to the positions they would occupy when displaying the number 1359. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the rearsides of the assembled concentric rings, in which the springs are removed from their respective channels. F ig. 11 is a detail cross section, as taken on the line y-.y of Fig. 7, and Fig.

12 is a detail view showing the incline 64 in elevation.

Similar reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views of the three sheets of drawings.

parts shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a rear ele- Before taking up the description of my invention it is necessary, in order to have a full understanding thereof, to refer, briefly, to the construction and operation of the mechanism to which my invention may be connected, which is Shown in Fig. 1, and

may be stated as follows: In ordinary automatic (so called) telephone systems there is ing the receiver E, which receiver when suspended therefrom holds the lever D down to its lowest point, as in Fig. 1. Rotatively mounted over the face of the case O is the numeratingdial F. Permanently secured to the case C and extending out; therefrom, near the lowest position of the periphery, is the stop G. Said dial F is secured to the stem H by the screw 1, said stem being controlled as to its rotation in one direction by the flat coil-spring U which is located in the face of the front of the case C, as shown in Fig. 8, which spring is adapted to retain the dial F, normally, to the left in the position shown in Fig. 1, but allowing ,the dial F to be manna 1y rotated to the right, against the resiliency of said sprin U, to

one-half the circumference of the dia which on bein released will be rotated back to normal y said spring U. In this instance there are formed through one side of the dial F, near the edge thereof, eleven finger apertures, each being desi ated by its permanent title, as: Long fistance, 0, 9,8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, which extend from right to left in the order given, a'nd located in the arc of a circle. By placing ones finger in either of said apertures, and ones thumb of the same hand against the stop G, it is evident thatthe dial may be rotated to the right until the finger of the hand engages the stop G which will bring the character opposite said aperture into alinement with said stop, after which the dial is released and returns to its normal position, and then another character is brought into alinement with the stop G as before, and so on until all of the figures composing the number desired have been brou ht into alinement with said stop. By the a ove it is apparent that any number .or combination of figures or other characters maybe assembled up to the limits of the tele hone. After each combination of figures as been brought into alinement with said stop then the calling party or user has only to press the push-button J which will ring the bell of the subscriber eoases whose number has just been assembled. It

should also be understood that'before begin ning the arrangement of the numerals for a certain number, that is before instituting the cail; the .user first removes the receiver E from the lever or hook D.

In order: to accommodate the telephone, just described, to the employment of my invention I have only made the stem H slightly longer than ordinary, that I may position the dial F slightly farther from the face of the case C to give room for. my mechanism therebetween, as shown in Fig. 4:, I provide the dial F with a slot F formed therethrough, as shownin Figs. 1 and 2; and I provide the inner en d' of the lever D with an outwardly extending pintle 81 to provide a trip as will hereinafter be described. Referring now, more particularly, to my specific construction, I will describe the several'parts and the construction and the several operations thereof as briefly and as compactly as I may.

The numeral 10 denotes a disk which is connected to and extends over the central portion of the front of the case C, and is located a slight distance therefrom where it is secured by the screws 11, 12 and 13, as shown in Fi s. 4: and 5, the reverse side of said disk 10 eing shown in Fig. 7 A central aperture is formed through said disk in which operates the'stem H. Located on the rear face of the disk 10 are four springs 14;, 15, ltiand 17 which lie parallel with each other and flat against the disk, as shown in Figs. 7 and 11, and having one end of each permanently secured to the disk, frojn where they extend upwardly and outwardly slightly beyond the medial horizontal lineacross the disk, on which line is a forwardly extending stud carried by each spring, said studs are designated by the numerals 18, 19,

-20 and 21, respectively, and they are shown in said Figs. 7 and 11. Aperturesare formed through the disk, one for each of said studs and said studs extend through said apertures,-as shown in Figs. 5 and 11, and, when the springs are fiat against the disk, said studs project slightly outward be yond theffacehof the disk 10, as shown in ig. 11 or t e purpose presently appearing. The blade 22, of the lever 22, is adapted to he slid under the'free ends of said springsin order to draw the studs inward by which their protruding end portions may be made flush with the outer face of the disk'lO, this by reason of the portions of said studs which may protrude beyond the'face of the dial 10 being equal, substantially, to the thickness of said blade.

The numerals 23, 24:, 25 and 26 designate 'small eyes, or hooks, which are secured to the face of the disk 10, located on a line radieting from the center to the periphery thereoflin which eyes are securable one end ceases each of the respective relatively long helical springs 27, 28, 29 and 30, which are shown in Figs. 4 and 6.

The numerals 3.1, 32, and 3% denote pins or stops which are permanently secured in and rise from the face of the disk 10, whose purpose will hereinafter be made to appear, thesestops are located in a line with, but are located on the opposite side of the face of said disk from that of said hooks 23, 24, 25 and 26.

Permanently secured in and rising from the face of the disk 10 and located on the left-hand side thereof, are three rows of Small studs or guides, which are designated as follows: The studs of the outer row are designated by the numerals 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40; that of the center row by. numerals 41, 42, 43, 44, and 46; and that of the inner row by numerals 47, 48, 49, 50, 51 and 52, the three rows being arranged concentric with each other in arcs of circles having the center ofthe disk as a common center and following thecurvature of the periphery of the disk. Said studs are employed as guides or bearings for the concentric rings, which will hereinafter be described, their function being to prevent frictional contact between said rings and allowing the rings to rotate independent'of each other.

.The rings referred to immediately above are designated by the numerals 53, 54, 55 and 56, each of which is formed with an inwardly projecting flange which extends from the inner edge thereof wherebythey appear L-shaped in cross section, as shown in Fig. 3. Said rings are so constructed as to nest together as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, forming collectively a smooth face in front, and forming concentric channels which open to the rear as indicated, in which channels are contained the respective helical springs 27, 28, 29 and 30, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6'. Posts or studs T7, T8, 79 and are secured to the respective rings and extend back through their respective channels to points equal to the depth of the channels, that is to say,even with the rear edge of the flanges of the rings. To said posts are connected one end each of the respective springs 27, 28. 29 and 30. as indicated inFig. 6.

Referring now to the rear side of the dial F, as shown in Fig. 2: The numeral 57 denotes a pawl frietionally pivoted, by the rivet tothe rear face of said dial at a point to the left of a vertical line thereacross. Said pawl is provided with a shoulder 57 near the outer end of its longer portion, and a hook 57 extends from one side of said shoulder over and beyond the shoulder, with its inner edge inclining at an angle slightly outward from the shoulder. as shown in Fig. 2. The numeral 59 designates a stop, secured to the back of the dial F, against which said pawl may engage when being pear.

turned outward in order to prevent the pawl from turning beyond the point necessary for it to engage the pin 60. Itshould be understood that the pawl 57 is so mounted by the pivot therefor that it turns only by .the engagement therewith of some other part, by

which it is adapted to. remain at any point where left after being moved by. some other part ofthe, mechanism. 1

Referring again to Fig. 3 it will be noticed thatrising from the face of each of the rings 53, 54, 55 and 56 is a pin, which pins are denoted by numerals 60, 61, 62 and 63 respectively, which when the rings are in their normal positions as shown in Fig. 3, should be arranged in the arc of a circle with the rivet-58 as a center.

Secured to and rising from the front of the case C, located a little to the left of a vertical line through the center of the case, and immediately outside the periphery of the disk 10, with its point rising almost to the height of .he ring 53, located on the lower portion of the case, and with the incline.

thereof sloping upwards from the left to the right, is the incline 64, shown in Figsl. 5, 8 and 12, whose purpose will hereinafter ap- Secured to the underside of the ring 53, at a pointsomewhat to the right of the pin 60, and extending outward even with and then following the curvature of the periphery of the ring 53, is a. spring arm 65, which ter minates at a-point slightly short of the ver I tical central line which passed across said rings, whenthei rings are in normal position as shown in Figs. 3 and 6., A portion of the free end of theaarm 65 is given a quarter twist in order to provide a shoulder for engaging the arm 57 of the pawl 57, the purpose of which will hereinafterbeexplained. Disposed on the face of each of the rings 53, 5a, and 56 are the figures 1, 2, 3, 4-, 5, (S, 7, 8, 9, 0 arranged progressively in n'oper sequence and an equal distance apart, beginning one space from the respective pins (50, 61, (32 and 63 and extending to the left to near the central horizontal line of the rings, as shown in Fig It should be under-stood that said characters may be variously changed as desired, and that they may be attached in position in any manner.

The lever 22 above referred to, in addition to having the blade 22*, is provided with a .tooth 22 which extends inwardly parallel meral 66 denotes a spring which is secured at one end by the screw 12 with its free end held in contact with said shoulder 22 by the pin 67, the latter being secured to the case C. The numeral 68 denotes a finger permanently secured to the rear face of the dial F, shown in Fig. 2, which is adapted to engage the finger 22, for the purpose which will hereinafter be set forth.

Operation: Suppose, now, for instance, that the us of the telephone equipped with my invention predilects to call another party whose telephone number is 1359, or any other number for that matter: Hefirst removes the receiver E from the hook, or

lever I); he will then place his finger in the aperture opposite 1 on the dial and turn the dial until his finger engages the stop Gr; he will then release the dial allowing it to swing back to its normal position, which will expose the figure l on the face of the ring 53, through the slot F. He then places his finger in the aperture opposite the figure 3 on the dial, then turning the dial as before until his finger engages the stop, and then after the dial is released and swings back to normal the figure 3 of the ring 54, will appear immediately to the ri ht of the previously positioned figure 1 In like manner the figures 5 and 9 of the respective rings 55 and 56 are exposed through said slot by the operation of the dial as before set forth, exposin succes sively said figures to the right oft e preV 1- ously arranged figures. By the above it is apparent that the figures appearing through said slot will verify the correctness of the 'u'sers operations in manipulating the dial. If at this point the user, which may be termed the calling party, should discover that he had made a mistake in arranging his number then he will hang u his receiver, and on taking down the receiver again the arrangement is such that all of the figures which have been appearing through the slot F Will instantly disappear from view. On the other hand if the calling party finds that the number appearing through said'slot is correct then he will press the button J thereby signaling the party whose number he has just arranged. If the party signaled is busy, or after finishing the conversation with the called party, the user will hang up his receiver, but it should be noted that the number of the party last called, that is to say Number 1359, will continue to appear through the slot F, and will remain so exposed until the receiver of that tele hone is again taken down. The removal 0 the receiver I) from its hook onthe telephone will cause the number 1359 to instantly disappear, showing the slot blank and ready for a new number to be assembled.

It is obvious that if the user calls a certain number and that telephone happens to be .busy, then the user hangs up the receiver,

and if he desires to call the same part-y again, before another call is made on his telephone, then the number of the party he desires will be in view through said slot, which of course .will be a convenience.

The mechanism of my invention above described, taken in connection with the system as set forth, is adapted to produce the re sults as stated, the several operations hein substantially as follows: Suppose the severa parts to be in normal position, as in Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10, and the user desires to call thenumber 1359 and on going to his telephone he finds either that space of theslot F is blank, or that it is occupied by the last number that has been called on that telephone, and on taking down his receiver E the number, if there is one appearing through the slot, will immediately disappear from sight, this by reason of the pint-le 81 on the inner end of the lever D impinging the tooth 22 thereby turning the lever 22 and causing its blade 22 to slide under the springs 14, 15, 16 and 17, to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, which of course will draw the studs 18, 19, 20 and 21 back with their ends flush with'the face of the disk 10 and consequently from engagement with the shoulders of the teeth which are formed in the rearwardly extending flanges of the respective rings 53, 54, 55 and-56, said teeth being shown in Fig. 10, thereby allowing the respective springs 27 28, 29 and 30, which would then be at tension, to rotatively draw their respective ring to the left until the studs 7 7, 78, 79 and impinge the respective stops .31, 32, 33 and 34 which will retain the rings at normal. As the ring 53 returns it will in transit cause the free end of the sprin -arm 65 carried thereby to engage the arm 51 and return the pawl 57 to the normal position shown in Fig. 2.

The next step will be for the user to assemble the number of the telephone he desires to call: First, he will turn the dial F to bring the figure 1 thereon even with the stop G,

the first part of this movement will cause the finger 68 to strike'the finger 22 thereby throwing up the blade 22 out of engagement with the springs 18, 19, 20 and 21, where it will be retained by reason of the spring 66 pressing squarely on the shoulder 22. The last mentioned movement of the dial will also cause the shoulder 57 to engage the pin 60, thereby carrying along with the dial the outer ring 53 to a point where the figure 1 of the ring will be opposite the slot F, that is after the dial has returned to its normal position, at which point said ring and'the figure thereon will be retained by reason of the stud 21 engaging, ratchet-dike, with one of the teeth on the flange of said ring. Immediately following the positioning of the first figure, 1 the dial is released, and as it swings back to eoaas e normal the pin 60 will impinge the hook 57 and, by reason of the inclination of said hook, the pin 60 will not be engaged thereby and as the pin is not movable it is evident that the hook 57 will slide off said pin thereby moving the pawl 57. The length of the hook 57 is such that the pawl will be moved centerwa'rd the requisite distance in which on the second rotation of the dial to the right the shoulder 57 will engage the pin 61. Said pawl 57 is held in the position, to which it. is'or inay'be moved by said pins, by reason-of its frictional engagement by the rivet-58 above referred to. It is apparent that the spring 65 is, by the above, moved with the ring 53 whereby it will not influence the pawl 57 during the setting of the other remaining rings. Secondly,the user now places his finger in the aperture opposite the figure 3 and revolves the dial as before until his finger engages the stop G, in this movement the shoulder n57 of the pawl 57 will engage the pin 61, by reason of that above stated, thereby rotating along with the dial the ring 54, which when the rotation of the dial has reached the point where the figure 3 on' the dial is even with the stop G it will have carried the ring 54 therewith to a point where the figure 3 of the ring 54 will be directly opposite the aperture F and therefore immediately to the right of the previously positioned figure 1 of the ring 53. Now as the dial F is released the stud 19 willbe pressed by its .1 spring 15 into one of the notches in the flange of the ring 54 thereby retaining the ring 54 in the position shown in Fig. 9, and as the dial continues to rotate back the pin 61 will strike the hook 57 thereby moving the pawl'centerward one space as before, to the position whereby the shoulder 57 thereof will engagethe' pin 62 on the next forward. rotation of the dial. As the dial continues to move back towards its normal position it is apparent that the finger '68 will pass,over or to the side of but can not one gage with the finger 22, on account of the angle at which said finger is disposed during. these movements, it being removed out of the path of the finger 68 where it is;retained by thespring ($6. Third,-the user now places his finger in the aperture opposite the numeral 5' of the dial and then rotates the dial-to the right until said figure 5 isin alinement with the stop G, during this movement the shoulder 57' of the pawl has engaged the pin 62 thereby rotatingthe ring 55 therewith until the figur 5 thereon is opposite the slot- F, and in alinement with the prior disposed figures 1 and i 3 Now if the dial F be released it will of itself rotate back to normal, that is to the po-',

sition shown in Fig. 1, and in this last move ment' of the dial the pin 62 will strike the hook 537* and move the pawl 57 centerward to the position for the shoulder 57 to engage the pin 63 on the next forward movement of the dial. Fourth,in this move-- ment the operator will, as before, bring the figure 9 of the dial on a line with the @op G which manifestly will cause theshoulder 57 to have engaged the pin '63 thereby rotating the ring 56 therewith until the figure 9 of the ring 56 is opposite the slot F and in alinementwith the previously positioned figures where it is retained by the stud 21 engaging in one of the notches on the tin of said ring 56. The dial is then released and rotates back to normal, which will allow the numerals 1359 to appear through the aperture F, as in Fig, 1, the rings being retained in the positions shown in 9. Now if the user will press the button J he will, by instrumentalities immaterial to an understanding of this invention, cause the bell to ring. on the telephone contained in fact will continue to be in sight until the user-again takes down his receiver. Now as the receiver is taken from the arm 1) the arm springs up to its highest point'thereby mpvi'ng the pintle 81 downward into contact with the tooth 22*, thereby drawing the blade 22* under the springs 14, 15, 16 and 17 which will draw the studs 18, 19, 20 and 21 back fiushwith the disk 10 thereby releasing all of the rings 53, 54, 55 and 56 and allowing their respective springs to return them, smartly, back to their normal position. The first movement of rotating the dial F for a new number will cause the finger 68 to engage the finger 22 thereby turning the pawl 22 and removing the blade 22 from engagement with the springs 14, 15, 16 and 17 and allowing means for the new number to be retained in position as that of the number shown in Figs. 1 and 9.

It is apparent that myinvention will 0perate equally well to exhibit numbers of onefigure, as well as numbers of two or three figures, or as numbers of four figures as described, a number of one figure operates in the same manner as a number of four figures. It is also apparent'that a greater number of rings, or number of rows of figures, or other characters, may be employed in order to compose numbers of more than four figures or letters, or figures and letters, if desired.

Y I desire that it be understood that various the details of construction without departing from the s irit or'sacrificing any of the advantages 0 this invention, my intention being to show and describe a specific construction but to claim broadly the combination of a sight-indicator operating automatically ivlitth a so-called automatic telephone or the Having now fully shown and described my invention and its intention, operation and its relation to other devices, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is'

. 1. A. mechanism of the character set forth, a plurality of concentric rings each carrying on its face a series of figures or other characters, a rotative dial operative over and concentric with said rings and having a sight aperture therethrough throughwhich a portion of each of said rings may be seen, means whereby as the dial is rotated in one direction one of said rings will rotate therewith and be locked at limit'of movement'in that direction until the commencement of a new call regardless of the movements of the dial during the call then instituted. i

2. A mechanism of the character set forth comprising an automatic telephone, a rotative dial carried by the telephone, a set of figures located on the dial, a plurality of concentric rings located between the telephone and the dial, a set of figureslocated on the face of each oi said rings, which sets of fig-- ures correspond with each other and with the figures located on the dial, said dial being located over and concentric with said rings v phones or and having a sight aperture theretlirough through which a portion of said rings may be seen, means whereby as the dial is rotated to denote a number who called on the telephone said rings will be rotated to positions such as will cause the figures thereon to appear through said aperture in the dial to form the same number as that arran ed by the operator with the figures on the dial of the telephone, and means for retainin the same number in position until a new ca 1 is instituted on the same telephone.

3. In combination with an automatic telehone or the like, an indicator mechanism or automatically bringing into the view of the calling-party the number of the telephone he has designated, and means forautomatically returning the indicator mechanism to normal on the commencement of a new call.

4. A mechanism of the character set forth to operate in connection with automatic telethe like, a plurality of independent concentric rings each having a smooth face all of said faces being in alinement with and adjoining each other, a plurality of figures or the like disposed oneach of said faces which figures correspond to the figures or the like located on the telephone dial, meansfor automatically bringing into the view of the of the face of each 'ical y -ters' he has indicated, means for disbanding the characters comprising the number'in 0 frator a figure from one or more of said he called, and means for releasing said rings automatically by the commencement of a new call on the telephone on which said number is displayed.

5. In combination with an automat1c tele-- phone, an indicator carried thereby having characters, means for assembling said characters to designate any one or the telephones in the system, means for alining said characters automatically whereby they will ap-' pear progressively as the user designates the telephone to be called, and means for retaining the characters, representin the telephone called, in viewiof .the ca ling party until the commencement o1 a to be released automatically.

6. In combination with an automatic telephone, a mechanism of the character set forth comprising means for automatically display ing a plurality of characters progressively new call, thenrings to form the number of the telephone to a which characters correspond with the charactors designated by thecalling party on the automatic telephone, means. for retainin the characters thus designated in view-oi the calling party until the commenceme nt of a new, call on the same telephone which last movement will allow the prior arranged characters to automatically disappear from view.

7. In combination with an automatic telephone having means for preintimating the telephone to be signaled, a mechanism in connection therewith for automatically disa playing to the calling-party the characters in progressive succession corresponding to the characters denoting the telephone to be signaled, means for retaining such charactors in displayed position until the commencement of a new call, and means whereby such characters are automatically displaced on the commencement of anew call.

8. In combination with an automatic telephone having means for intimating the telephone in thesame system to be si naled, a mechanism for'au gomatically dispaying to the calling-party t e characters in progressive succession corresponding to the characters denotin the telephone to be signaled, and means or retaining such characters in displayed position until the commencement of a new call. e

9. In-combination with an automatic telephone i'or electing, step-by-step, a plurality of characters forming the number of the tele hone to be called, means for "automatdisplaying to the actuator the characsight, either at the will of the said party or l to be made on the same telephone.

10. A mechanism scribed, to operate in matic telephones, a rings each carrying onits face a plurality of figures or the like, means for bringing into alinement with each other a figure from-each of said rings to form the complete number of the tele hone to be called, said means being operab e automatically by the assembling of the number in the usual manner, and

connection with autos means for releasing said rings automatically in the system for automatically displaying to the calling-party telephone heintimates, and means for conthat it, is desired the call-number of the tinuing the display of said call-number, unless intentionally displacedat the telephone on which it originated, until a new call is instituted.

12. Incombination with an, automatic telephone system or the like having a plurality of individual telephones provided with an indicative number composed of a plurality of figures, and each having means for intimating, one at a time, the figures comprising the number of the telephone which it is-desired Ito call, means connected with each telephone for bringing into the view of the calling-party the figures, successively, composing the number ofth'e telephone intimated, means for maintaining in view of the calling-party the number ofthe telephone so intimated, and means for automatically causing said numbers to disappear at the first operation of instituting a new. call from the telephone on which they are displayed.

13, In combination with an automatic telephone system or the like having a plurality ofindividual telephones provided with an individual number, for intimating the number of the'telephone to call, means connected with each telephone for bringing into the view of the calling-party the number of the telephone he is intimating, means for main taining in View of the calling-party the number of the telephone intimated, and meansforfautomatically causing said number todisappear upon the first operation of instituting a new call. 14; In a non-electric} sight indicator for automatic telephones,a plurality of concentric rows of figures adapted tobe automatically arranged toform numbers to becomposed of a plural number of figures, means of the character deplurality of concentric 1 each row may and each having means for selecting one figure from each of said rows and arranging them in alinement with each other, and means whereby all of said figures are i released automatically and re turned to their normalgposition at the commencement of a new-call.

15. In amechanical' sight indicator for au tomatic telephones, 'a, plurality of circular rows of figures adapted to be automatically arranged to form either one-0f the numbers capable of being formed with the number of rows of figures. employed by the telephonedial, means for holding the assembled mini-- ber in position until the commencement of a new call, andmeans for returning said fig-- ures to normal position when the telephone hook is again set forth. p I I 16.. Incombination with an automatic telephone having a rotative dial for arranging the number of thetelephone to be called, an automatically 0 erable indicator comprising a plurality of1dentical rows of figures arranged parallel and concentric and on same "plane with each other, means for operating released, all substantially as each .of said rows of figures independent of each other whereby either of the figures of be brought into alinement with each of the figures of the other rows, means whereby only the selected figures may be brought into view to indicate the telephone-selected by the operator of the telephone .on which the indicator is located, and means. for automaticallyretaining the asscmbled numbers in position until the commencement of a new call.

17.. In combination with an phone, an indicator actuated automatically thereby and having means for bringing to the View of the calling party the number of the telephone to be signaled, means for retaining the number indicated in position until the commencement of a new call, a plurality of independent sets of movable figures, and means whereby the several figures comprising the number called will be returned to their normal position at the commencement ofa new call. i I

18. As 'a new article of manufacture, in combination with a telephone or the likehaving a rotative number instituting dial and a receiver lever, an indicator. having means for indicating automatically-the number instituted by the operation of said dial, and for indicating'each character progressively as it is instituted, and means for returning the character or characters automatically to their normal position at the commencement of a new call on the sanie'telephone. Y r I IQ An indicator adapted to be employed in connection, with tin-"automatic telephone having a rotative dial, a-plurality of concentric rings nested together an operating within and around and independent of each other, each having an outer face, all of which automatic telcthe selecting means instrument he has selectedbe- I v(ilependent of the others,

faces are on the same plane, and each containing on its face the same characters as those contained on the telephone dial, means for selecting the characters and for bringing the characters thus selected into alinement with each other where they may be seen by the operator as a single integer, the selection of said characters being accomplished automatically by the rotation ofthe telephone dial and corresponding to the characters 111- dicated by said dial. ll substantially as specified.

, '20. In combination with an automatic telephone having a'rotative dial containing a series of figures and having an aperture therethrough, an indicator mechanism located between said dial and the telephone case an comprising a series of concentric rings nested together with their faces presenting a plain unbroken front, the face of each of said rings containing a series of figures corresponding to the figures on said dial, pins extending out from the face of each of said rings, a pawl pivoted to the back of said dial id adapted to actuate successively. each of ings in order to bring the figures theresponding with the figures indicate dial, opposite to said aperture in the i. i.- ncn position,

tie dial is in normal means for retaining the figures thus appearing in said aperture in position until the commencement "of a new call on that telephone, and-means for releasing all of said rings automatically when the telephone receiveri'staken from its hook, and,a spring contained in eaoh oi said ringsfor returning the rings to their normal position after be ing released. v I

21, In combination with a system of electrical communication having means for electrically selecting the instrument to be communicate with, and means for signaling such instrument after being selected, mechanical means operated automaticallyby for exhibiting to the operator the fore he has instituted the operation of signaling the selectedfinstrument',' means whereby the exhibit thus shown may not be changed except by the commencement of a new selection on the same instrument.

22. An indicator comprising a series 0 concentric rings located on a common plane, means for rotating each'of said rings in comprising a pawl adapted first to engage the outer ring and then progressively each of the succeeding rings, means for returnin the pawl to .v normal after having rotate one or more of said rings, means for retaining each of said rings at the point to which it has been access means for selecting the number of the telephone to be called, automatic means for progressively denoting to the operator each which of the characters selected, means for retaining the characters comprising selected in alinement with each same plane until thecommen'cement call, and means for automatically all or the characters synchronously at the first o ration of the commencement of a new se ection. 2a. in combination with tele hone having a t abl mounted thereon, a purely mechanical mechanism located in the rear of said" dial and operative automatically in one direction thereby for bringing to the view 0 operator the characters he has indicated by the rotations of said dial, means for retainin in view of the operator the characters so intimated until the commencement of a new call on the same telephone,-unless intentionally displaced, and means for withdrawing the characters indicated from view automatically at the commencement of'a new call on the same telephone.

25. In combination with telephone having a vertically ceiver hook and a rotative dia other and on of a new releasing anautomatic an automatic a mechanical the the number operable reindicator connected thereto and comprising a series of concentric rings nested together and located between the telephone case and the dial, means for retaining said rings in rotative position to operate independent of each other, a spring tor each of said rings to normally hold the rings out of operative position, means for bringing each of said rings to operative position, successively, by the rotation of said dial in one direction,

means. for holding each of said ringsm operative position independent of said dial, and means for releasing all of the rings, which have been brought to operative position, at one time and allowing them to rotate smartly back to normal on the first operation of a new call.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. RIGHARD SEDGWICK.

Witnesses:

B. W. 'RANDLE,

R. E. HANDLE. 

